2 MINUTE WARNING

There is something about these movies or shows about superheroes that draws me in…….and each hero has a story:

One is bitten by a spider.

Another is struck by lightning.

Still another is an alien from another planet.

They are time travelers.

They are protectors of the weak human race…….

And the villains have great stories too.

I have often wondered what draws me into all of these….because what is drawing me in seems to be drawing others in too.

I think that all of us, when it comes down to it, know that we are vulnerable and broken and in need of help…..that we, as people, might not be able to overcome or defeat the things that come to break us……and that we are waiting for something or someone to come and rescue us or aid us in our battle.  And the idea that they can somehow sprint around the world in 5 seconds or swing from a building or fly somehow attracts us.

Several stories in the Bible have this “idea” connected to them.  

David defeats a giant.

Lot is aided by angels to flee Sodom.

Gideon leads an army into Jericho.

In all of these—-the people are in desperate need of a miracle—or a helping hand—and the Lord is there to provide just that.

And for for every story of a miraculous victory in a battle, there is yet another that is God simply coming and saving His people from being squashed like bugs due to their circumstances.

Esther rescues the Jews from execution.

Joseph goes from prison to royalty.

Daniel survives a night with hungry lions.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are able to survive the blazing furnace.

Some might even argue that these stories are no different than the ones that Marvel or DC have generated to capture our attention….but I would point your eyes to just the opposite.  WE ARE DRAWN to these comics because He has put it on our hearts to be drawn to things that resemble our nature, our history, and our creator.

Our reality is that we have generated these stories because the Lord has put the gospel on our hearts ….. And whether we come to accept it or not—-it is inside of us.

So my question for you today is:

What Is Your Story?  Because, ultimately, that is the only one that will matter…..and I can assure you—-it is the only one that matters to God.

Don’t get me wrong—He loves everybody.  But never forget—He wrote this Bible SPECIFICALLY for you.  He came for you.  He died for you.  And He rose again for you.

And I can tell you from personal testimony that:

He Shows Up…Because He wrote this story for me too.

• He showed up outside of a locker room in 1987 and put a courage and love in me that I could not come to on my own will.
• He showed up when I asked Him to come and show me what to do in my relationships to make them ….. Right ….. And soon after that—after I had submitted to Him through a period of testing—I met Angie.
• He showed up when I lost my house and was over a million dollars in debt and rescued me from financial ruin.
• He showed up and gave me my only sanity when I was literally going insane in 2002.
• When I asked Him to bring me a man of another race to follow a mandate from Promise Keepers in 1996—He did that.
• And in February of 2010, when my dad died, He showed up then too…..showing me a glimpse of my dad as he looked into the heavens on the day he died AND showing me later in worship that He had my dad in heaven.

Again and again……He Shows Up.  And He Shows Up AT JUST THE RIGHT TIME.

Do you need Him to show up?

Galatians 6  7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

I do read this verse as a warning….it is a loud and clear message to each of us that we can sometimes “sell Him short”….that we underestimate His power and forsake Him—and that we try to sow in the flesh.

But I would encourage you today to also read this verse from the positive perspective and:  SOW IN THE SPIRIT.

Because our reality is this:

Satan is a villain.

Jesus is a superhero the likes of which the world has never seen (even in the comics).

Our battle, according to Ephesians 6, is NOT AGAINST PEOPLE.

If we build our lives around eternity we will begin to see what God has in mind—not just for later—but for now.

So I would discourage you from testing God in the flesh…..

But when you “test” Him in the Spirit by sowing in the Spirit…..He shows up, and shows up big, 100% of the time.

In The Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

No one wanted justice more than Peter.

He cut off the ear of the man who dared arrest Jesus.

He asked Jesus to send destruction to a community of people.

He actually rebuked Jesus when he spoke the word.

And he promised to stand by Jesus no matter what…..even if everyone else would leave him.

And then he…..left him.

He denied he knew him—even swearing to his accusers that he never knew him.

We all want justice.  We all want someone held accountable.  And we all backslide.

And when we come to face the truth of who we really are….the truth hurts.

John 21  15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?”  “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”  Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”  16Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?”  He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”  Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”  17The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”  Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”  18Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.

I love Jesus….He asks Peter three times and restores him…..but I always ask the question:  How did he miss it?  The son of God was right there and he missed it…….

But the reality is that we all miss it.

In Revelation 3, Jesus says:  “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. 21 To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.”

And he says that because—-we ALL miss it.  He is standing right there and we miss it.

And so where does He meet us?…..just like Peter He meets us when we have come to the end of our rope.  When we realize who we are—we find that there is a hole inside of us—or maybe a chasm inside of us—that no one else can fill.  And that is where Jesus wants full occupancy.  The Holy Spirit can change us.  He can come do a work in us that no medicine, no therapy, no man made item can do…..and He can do it better that we ever would have thought.  Sometimes we just can’t receive Him in our greatest moments because that spot is occupied by pride.

And after all……our only gift is to RECEIVE HIM.  “To those who would receive Him—He gave the right to become children of God…”

So if God has shown up….and you have missed Him….if He has stood at the door and knocked—and you did not invite Him in in that moment because of fear, or pride, or distractions, or pain, or laziness ….. Just …. Invite Him in now.

He can work miraculously TODAY…….

And don’t listen to the enemy tell you that You Missed It or It Is Too Late To Go Back Now or I Will Never Measure Up …. Because although those might be the truth …. They are not the TRUTH…..

Because His timing is perfect….It is never too late…and His purchase on the cross paid for your inadequacy……

So open the door…..and change your life……

For He—-and He alone—-holds the keys to eternal life.

In The Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

I had the privilege of having a great American History teacher my junior year in high school:  My Dad.  As we celebrated as a family yesterday at his brother’s cabin–I thought of him a few times.  He had an incredible influence on my life and I am so glad that he was my teacher.  At our home one night, I can remember my dad telling me about an American Indian warrior’s great testimony about George Washington…so I looked it up.  I just wanted to see if I could read what he was telling me about.

http://home.portervillecollege.edu/jwiens/george_washington.htm

As details of the battle emerged, it turns out that either George Washington was extremely lucky, was bulletproof, or was being supernaturally protected. One Indian warrior testified that he had shot at him 17 times. He exclaimed that “Washington was never born to be killed by a bullet!” Another Indian, Red Hawk, had shot and missed him 11 times. He had not missed a shot before, and became convinced that Washington was being supernaturally protected by the Great Spirit. In 1770, fifteen years after the battle, an old Indian told Washington that he had sought out to meet him. He had been fighting in the battle that day, and he had told all the Indians with him to shoot at him, and make sure that he died. When they all missed, he told them to stop. On that evening, he predicted that Washington would never die in battle, and would be “the founder of a mighty empire.”

Perhaps this was the article that my dad was referencing…..but I think the spirit of this story holds to what we talked about on that night many years ago.  The testimony of our great nation, under God, from a people who were our adversaries.

As we take in the memory of the fireworks, the barbeque, and the gatherings—we should fondly make note of how we came to be a nation.

I tell my students all the time that they are free.  They can worship freely, they can live freely, and they can work as hard as they would choose to better their situation.

This is what my father and his brothers and sisters did.  They grew up in Hugo poor and made the most of what they had material-wise:  Nothing.

This is because when you combine freedom, hard work, family, and God’s blessing—-great things can happen.

What brings God’s blessing?

That is something we each need to look into as we move forward……

A few things on my heart today would be:

Strong Families

Hard Work

Gratitude

Generosity

Loyalty

I know that there could be many more things on that list so I will leave them for you to fill in…..but my point is this.

Jesus gave us freedom from three things that we could never have defeated on our own strength:

• Satan
• Sin
• Death

What could our country look like today if we truly acted on that freedom?

Our country is in a period of transition.  We have many things on the horizon that will make or break us.

But here is the good news:

2000 years ago Jesus sealed up our freedom on a cross between two thieves.  He poured out His blood and took the punishment that we deserved that we might live again……..Satan, sin, and death were defeated in one act of incredible love that we could never talk about enough…….

So go forward in freedom…..and seek God’s blessing in your walk.

Because in those things—-great nations are born.

In The Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

I have no idea what lead my daughter Jordan to read Judges 19 but a few nights ago, in her quiet time up in her room, that is exactly what she did.

Sharing with her sister and her mom—-she was a little upset by the reading.

Not being familiar with the passage by memory, I opened the Word to read it myself before advising her……and understood why she might be upset.

Some passages in the Old Testament could be described as:

• Brutal
• Unforgiving
• Disgusting

And this passage met exactly those qualifications.  In the one chapter, by my assessment, we have:

• Rape
• Murder
• Child Abuse
• Sexual Perversion
• Sexual Slavery
• Child Trafficking
• Mutilation

It is a disturbing portrait of not only who they were back then…but who we are today.

What can we say?  What can I say to my daughter who went in to read her Bible and came away deeply disturbed….

I can say to her what God says to us:  The Truth.

Sooner or later we must all face it.  And, personally, I want her to hear it from me.

Hey I get it…..sometimes the truth hurts.  But, as we know, the truth can set us free.  Actually, I should say:  The TRUTH can set us free.

And so here it is:  

Without God, we are Brutal, Unforgiving, and Disgusting.

This word today is not about the Old Testament.  It is about how the Old Testament shows us who we truly are without Jesus.

Now I know that there is more to Judges 19 than what I am touching on here, but what I am touching on here is simply to say that we must know who we truly are.

We are backsliding, disloyal, duplicit, perverted, murderous, slanderous, unreliable, detestable, and every other thing we can describe because we belong to the world.

Sin is our natural action.

Satan is in charge.

Death is our future.

We are no different than the men described in that chapter….although we sometimes find the sins that we do not struggle with and condemn those actions while reading over or denying the things that we do own.

Is it any wonder we have so many problems in the world today?

It is a simple matter that we were born into it.

When my children were younger, I used to ask them:

Where did you learn that?

Something in me wanted to know who taught them some of the things that they did ……. But the reality is that most of us find it on our own or in our own heart ….. OR …. They learned it from me.

I think I have made my point.

So today, let’s see what the prophet Isaiah had to say about all of this:

Isaiah 53  6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

So if you need a good story about man’s failure, God’s patience, and our incredible need for Jesus, read Judges 19.  And if you want to see these things acted out in 2017—-go and look in the mirror.

But don’t stay there long and condemn yourself….just stay there long enough to ask:  who would I be today if Jesus hadn’t gotten a hold of me yesterday?

And when you see that great need for Him…grab onto it and don’t let go.  Raise your hands to heaven and give Him His place on the throne of your life….and give it to Him with gratitude, with love, and with adoration.

Then go out and give that love that He has given you to someone else….they need Him just as bad as you do!

In The Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

As I was driving home last night, I was convicted by a thought:

Never have we had a more vital time to pray than in 2017.

Yes….we are fattened up by food….we can get whatever we want to eat whenever we want it.

Yes….we are lavished with all of the modern luxuries.

In the palm of our hand we have phones that have more information than we can process.  We can be in contact with anyone in a matter of seconds.

I can’t help but think that this is what Jesus is talking about in Revelation 3.

Revelation 3  17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.

The thing I love about the Lord is that He is full of grace—ready to forgive and redeem and restore and deliver…..but He is also honest and straight up.  He is, after all, perfect.  And He sent His Son to show us a different way to live—to call us into our destiny that we would not look back and that we would live out the call that He has placed over our lives.

So what are we to do with the condition of our communities as they currently exist?

Marijuana.  Suicide.  The breakdown of families.

Politics will not fix the situation that we live in.

Only God can fix it.  And I think that Jesus warns us in Revelation because we can do something about it…..and He tells us what to do about it in 2 Chronicles.

2 Chronicles 7 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

As ugly as things can be—we have hope.  Because if we have God we have hope.

We can not fix our issues with new policies, or new political leaders, or new laws.  But we can fix our issues when God changes our hearts……..

We need to humble ourselves and realize that we can not change people….only God can change people.

So the next time you feel like going on a political rampage…..remember that you might only be worsening the problem…..

Humble yourself

Pray

Turn from your wicked ways

…..and He will hear from heaven…..and heal our land.

Father~

Have mercy on all of us.  Lord, forgive us for not being who you have called us to be.  Move on our land and move on our hearts.  Heal our land and give us hope….and a future.

In The Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

When Paul walked into Damascus to kill Christians and encountered Jesus–the transformation was immediate and it was  radical.  The man became a champion for the gospel of Jesus Christ and his past MOTIVATED him to redeem his future.  He had been playing for the WRONG TEAM and once he found Jesus He became exactly the opposite of who he was before the meeting.

So why should it be any different for any of us?

When we are in the flesh—we are playing for the wrong team.

When we are in the wrong mindset—our perspective of things is totally jacked up—-and it is jacked up because we are not putting our eyes on the right thing.

My word for you today is simple:  Get Your Eyes Up!  Because if your eyes are up, you will have a chance to see what the truth truly is…….

And when your eyes are down…….you can be a sitting duck for Hell.

Genesis 28:12 is a reference to a dream/vision of Jacob and we commonly refer to it as Jacob’s Ladder…….a picture of angels ascending and descending from heaven to earth on a stairway.

What makes it special is then when Jesus talks about it later:

John 1 51 He then added, “I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Jesus is now at the beginning of His ministry and tells Nathanael and Philip that “He is Jacob’s Ladder”.

Jesus was a radical man—telling people He…..is the ladder into heaven, telling others that He…..is the Living Water, telling others that they must eat…..His flesh or have no part with Him…….No one understood and then……He rose from the dead…….and His followers became radical followers.  The Spirit transformed them…..and He can transform us…….

So today I tell you:  Get your eyes up.  Get your eyes up on the One…..who IS the ladder into heaven.  Get your eyes up away from your sin and all the things that you have done to wreck your life and maybe even the lives of others.  Get your eyes up away from all the things that are destroying us and begin to set your gaze on the King of the universe!

God has a plan….and He sent His Son who sold His life to buy us into righteousness and shed His blood to seal it.

Jesus died that we may have life and raise the standard of living……He gave us the power to be forgiven and redeemed and transformed.

So if you have been like Paul and playing for the WRONG TEAM, then maybe you need to have a meeting with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

And if you have had your eyes down….then maybe it is time that you get your eyes UP—-and look at the Son of Man.  Because He is the Ladder….and on Him angels travel in and out of the heavens…….and in Him—we can capture eternal life and begin walking in it today.

He has called us all to a higher purpose.  So let’s start acting like the children of the Living God…..because, in Jesus, that is EXACTLY WHO WE ARE!

In The Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

The gospel ultimately and repeatedly comes down to a principle that we can never repeat enough:  Forgiving someone who does not deserve it as a result of total and absolute unconditional LOVE.

And for those of us who have received that—-that we would never forget it and continue to walk in that lavished grace for all of our days—-repeatedly and unconditionally giving it to others.

If you are like me—you are in constant need of a reminder.

And so I remind you today what God is constantly telling me:

I Am Not Done With You Yet.

Romans 7 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?

Paul is asking the same question that I ask when faced with thr reality of my works in the flesh….and he gets the same answer that I get:  Jesus.

Jesus will rescue him and He will rescue me.

On his way to Damascus, in pursuit of those who loved Jesus, Paul found Jesus.  And when he found Jesus, he found life itself.

So today…..as I face up to my failures as a husband, as a parent, as a man……I can reintroduce myself to the gospel that saved me because Jesus saved me.  I can reintroduce myself to the reality of what Jesus is going to someday tell Satan.  He is going to tell him:  I have got him.  He is mine.  And I paid for his debt IN FULL.  And when I did it….I paid for ALL of it.

You see….if Jesus forgives any of our sins—He forgives all of our sins.

So as you face the reality of the fact that you are not good enough remember this:

The gospel ultimately and repeatedly comes down to a principle that we can never repeat enough:  Forgiving someone who does not deserve it as a result of total and absolute unconditional LOVE.  Jesus bought you at a great price…..and He is not done with you yet.

In The Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

When you stand in two yards, you must never forget where to ground yourself……..

This word was on my heart as I drove across town several days ago and it has been hard for me to put it into words.

One of my friends calls “standing in two yards” duplicity.

But I think a more common use of the term would be:

Two Faced.

Being Two Faced is not what any of us wants to be called….and yet, it is probably inevitable—and that is why I wanted to address it.

The Bible makes it clear that we are aliens……and when I first read it I wondered why it would say that…….

I think that Jeremiah sums it up the best:

Jeremiah 17  9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.  Who can understand it?

How can this be?  I have often felt that the term:  Follow Your Heart….. was a great way to express to someone to pursue their passions and live out their dreams….

But the reality is that we must be keenly aware that our hearts can mislead us.  They can lead us into situations and places where we are sure to find pitfalls and traps…..

I am constantly asking Jesus to come into my heart that I might not be lead by my emotions or my selfish desires or my ingrained opinions (of which I have many)……

And I encourage you this day to do the same.

Step away from your political views and PRAY.

Step away from your cultural background and PRAY.

Step away from the way you “always do it” or the way your family always did it and PRAY.

We do not go and get delivered and saved by Jesus so that we can be the same……..We go and meet Him so we can be transformed into the people that He has called us to be.

And sometimes He does that INSTANTLY…..and sometimes He does it as we walk out our lives in humble submission to Him.

In The Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J

When you stand in two yards, you must never forget where to ground yourself.

Life is not easy.  We have many forces pulling us in many different directions and there never seems to be enough resources.

I know for me it comes down to running low on time, running low on money, or running low on energy.

For most of us, we simply will never have enough of any of those to truly do what our minds set out to do.

The enemy will continually try to draw our attention away from the ONE VERY THING that we must do.

I think this is what Jesus is talking about in Luke 17:

Luke 17  11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”

14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.

15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him–and he was a Samaritan.

17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

How many of us have found Jesus and truly been freed from something…….and then we walk right back to the very place where we became sick—forgetting to RUN BACK AND FALL AT HIS FEET AND THANK HIM?

Jesus did not deliver us so that we could go back and forget who we are or where we came from….He delivered us so that we could live a life that is overflowing with gratitude and humility……

I urge you today to remember:  Who’s Your Daddy?

Remember the place where you used to live and the mindset you used to have…..

Are you like the other 90% in Jesus story?  Have you been washed or delivered or saved and wondered right back ‘out of the yard’ to the very life that crippled you?

Go back to the Lord and go to His feet.

As I have been grappling with this write up a song came on the radio and convicted me all the more…….

Casting Crowns:  Lifesong

“Empty hands held high

Such small sacrifice

When not joined with my life

I sing in vain tonight …. “

I think this is why Jesus mentions the “foreigner” and gives him favor…..

We are so locked in with who WE ARE and what we have given the Lord…….but our reality is that when we get in THAT mindset we must truly look at what we have given to the Lord.  NONE of us can say that we give Him, really, anything.  When we hold our hands high in worship—-it only means that we are giving Him what is in our hands……NOTHING.

The Bible says that we all fall short…..that none of us is worthy.

ALL of us are in dire need of Jesus.

ALL of us have nothing to offer the Lord beyond our hearts.

ALL of us are absolutely lost without Him.

So let’s carry that mindset with us into our lives.

Let’s carry that gratitude into our lives.

And let’s NEVER forget to return to the Savior every chance we get and throw ourselves at His feet in His honor.

Lord–

You are our Daddy.  You are our only hope.  You are the One who holds the keys to eternal life……….Lord, we are lost without You!

Lord, Yours is the Kingdom.  Yours is the Power.  Yours is the Glory.  Forever and ever and ever.

Amen.

https://youtu.be/U4OnZUfzlHU

In The Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Coach J